Potting Demonstration

With warming temperatures, many of us begin to think about changing out our cool-season annual flowers for plants that can take the heat of summer.

Last week, I gave a potting demonstration for attendees of a local home tour.  

Potting demonstration

Potting demonstration

The pots were then to be raffled off.

I planned on creating two succulent pots and one using a combination of perennials and annual flowers.

Potting demonstration

My daughter, Rachele, came with me to help carry the bags of soil, pots, plants, etc.

It was also an opportunity to spend time together before she left for the Navy.

There were to be two different potting demonstrations.  I created one succulent pot ahead of time…  

pink-flowers

This container has pink-flowering Crown of Thorns, tall Lady’s Slipper, Variegated Elephant’s Food and a gray-colored cactus.

I like to create container plantings with a tall plant for vertical interest.  The Crown of Thorns provides striking floral color.  The Elephant’s Food will trail over the edge of the pot as it grows, which adds texture and softens the container’s lines.

Lastly, the gray-colored cactus (I admit that I don’t know what kind it is), adds great color contrast with its gray/blue color.

Soon, it was time for the first demonstration.  My daughter took photos of me talking.  The lighting is terrible because I was in the shade and behind me was the sun, but you can still see what I was doing.

Looking down at my notes.  Can you tell  I use my hands when I talk?

Looking down at my notes.  Can you tell  I use my hands when I talk?

Planting the orange Calendula

Planting the orange Calendula.

Adding Purple Verbena and filling the spaces with Celosia

Adding Purple Verbena and filling the spaces with Celosia.

I just need a bit more Celosia in the front, don't you think?

I just need a bit more Celosia in the front, don’t you think?

For this container, the tall vertical interest comes from Mexican Feather Grass.  The bright color is from the Calendula.  The trailing plant is Purple Verbena and gray Lavender provides the color contrast.

I used Celosia to fill in the empty spaces.  I was pretty happy with how it turned out.

When planning on what plant combinations will look good in a container, I simply arrange the plants, while they are still in their containers at the nursery.

succulent pot.

Now it was time for planting the second succulent pot.

First, adding the Elephant's Food.

First, adding the Elephant’s Food.

Ever wonder how to plant a cactus without getting pricked?

Golden Barrel Cactus

An old towel, folded into quarters (4 layers thick) works great.  I covered the top of the Golden Barrel Cactus with the towel as I turned it over to plant.  The towel came off easily once I was finished.

Newspaper is also helpful in planting cactus.

Almost done

Almost done…

Blue Elf Aloe

Finished!

The Blue Elf Aloe provides the height for this planting combination.  Elephant’s Food will grow to trail over the side.  The Golden Barrel cactus adds color contrast with its round shape and yellow spines.  Ice plant with brightly-colored red flowers adds a needed splash of color.

Potting Demonstration

The pots each went to good homes and raised money for future community projects.

Do you like growing plants in containers?

Or maybe, you haven’t tried before.

Well, it’s not difficult. Come back for a visit in a couple of days and I’ll share with you my container guidelines.

Pink Flowering False ‘Shamrocks’

Pink Wood Sorrel

Isn’t this a pretty flowering shamrock?

Okay, it’s not really a shamrock.  It does belong to a family of plants known as ‘false shamrocks’.

Since I can’t grow real shamrocks in my desert garden, I just like to pretend that my pink- flowering one is the real deal.

Pink Wood Sorrel

This plant that masquerades as a shamrock in my vegetable garden is actually Pink Wood Sorrel, (Oxalis crassipes ‘Rosea’).

I received this lovely plant from a fellow blogger, who gardens in Oregon.

I saw this beautiful flowering plant on one of her and she kindly sent me some a few years ago that she had divided from her plant.

Would this plant grow in my desert garden, I wondered?

Well, it not only grew…

Pink Wood Sorrel

It has thrived!

Hardy to zones 5 – 10, it flowers in spring and fall.  During the hot summer, it goes dormant but quickly grows back.

Because it has done so well, I have divided it and place it in other partly shady spots in my vegetable gardens.

I planted it in my vegetable garden where it would  do well in enriched soil and receive regular water.

Oxalis articulata

I love the tiny flowers that close at night.

Unlike other species of Oxalis, Pink Wood Sorrel is not invasive.

Oxalis articulata

Even when not in flower, I love how pretty this plant is.

Oxalis articulata

I enjoy growing some plant species that might seem out of place in the desert climate.  You just have to adjust the growing conditions a bit.  A partly shady corner of the vegetable garden works just perfectly for my false ‘shamrock’.

Overwintered Pepper Plant

Colorful Flowers With a Fancy Name

One of my favorite plants is described as having ‘chartreuse-colored’ flowers.

Just saying the word, ‘chartreuse’ sounds fancy, doesn’t it?

So what color is chartreuse anyway?

Well, I looked up the definition and found this definition from Wikepedia:

– “a color halfway between green and yellow that resembles a French liqueur called Chartreuse.”

The only reason that I know what color chartreuse is, is because of the flowers produced by this favorite plant of mine…

Colorful Flowers

Colorful Flowers

They are pretty, aren’t they?

What I find quite funny about this plant is that while the color of its flowers have a fancy French name – the common name of this plant is somewhat derogatory.

Beautiful Colorful Flowers of Euphorbia biglandulosa

Beautiful Colorful Flowers of Euphorbia biglandulosa

This succulent plant with the fancy-colored flowers is known as a ‘gopher plant’.

In late winter and early spring, chartreuse-colored flowers appear in zone 9a, providing a welcome splash of color.

As the flowers age, they take on a different appearance that I like as well…

Euphorbia biglandulosa

They do great in full sun or light shade.  Gopher plants don’t need any special care.  Just provide well-drained soil and supplemental water.  The only thing to be careful of is not too overwater them – no more then once a week during the warm months.

Once they are done flowering, prune back the old stems.  Gopher plants (Euphorbia biglandulosa), grow approximately 2 ft. wide and 1 ft. high.

I like planting them nearby boulders or in groups of three.

I often recommend this plant to clients, but I don’t call it ‘gopher plant’ because let’s face it; would you want to add a plant called that without having seen it first?

Instead, I refer to it as “an attractive succulent with chartreuse-colored” flowers.

Which would you prefer to have in your garden; a gopher plant OR a succulent with chartreuse-colored flowers?

Spring Cleaning – Severe Renewal Pruning

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My inbox has been filled lately with pruning questions.  Specifically, how to prune back overgrown flowering shrubs.

Chihuahuan Sage (Leucophyllum laevigatum)

Chihuahuan Sage (Leucophyllum laevigatum)

You may be wondering why you need to severely prune back overgrown shrubs?

Well, as you can see from the photo, above – as a shrub’s branches age, they produce fewer leaves and flowers.  As time passes – these branches die, which leave ugly, bare areas.

Here are a few more examples of overgrown shrubs that need to be severely pruned back…

'White Cloud' Texas Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens 'White Cloud')

‘White Cloud’ Texas Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens ‘White Cloud’)

You may think the formally pruned sage shrubs in the photo above, look okay besides being a bit on the large side.

But, what you don’t see is a large amount of dead branches inside.  In reality, these shrubs are covered in a very thin layer of growth.

overgrown shrubs

Here is an example of old Cassia (Senna nemophila) shrubs that have only been pruned formally.  You can see that there are more dead areas than live growth.

So, how do you go about severely pruning old, overgrown shrubs back?

First of all – don’t do this during cooler months because it will take your shrubs a very long time to grow back. In addition, it can make frost-tender shrubs more susceptible to frost damage.  Wait until spring for pruning back summer-flowering shrubs such as bougainvillea, sage, oleanders, etc.

You need a good pair of loppers and sometimes a pruning saw and you are ready to go. Simply prune your shrub back until there is only about 1 – 2 ft left.

Hedge trimmers can help if you use them to remove the outer part of the shrub and then you can get your loppers inside to prune off larger branches toward the base.

Below, are photos of ‘Rio Bravo’ Sage (Leucophyllum langmaniae ‘Rio Bravo’) shrubs that started out overgrown, were pruned back severely, and grew back.

overgrown shrubs

Overgrown shrubs.

overgrown shrubs

Pruned back to 1 ft.

This is the ugly stage.  But you need to go through this ‘awkward’ stage to achieve beautiful, healthy shrubs.

I promise that it doesn’t last long…

overgrown shrubs

New growth appears 3 weeks later

8 weeks after pruning

8 weeks after pruning.

12 weeks after severe pruning.

12 weeks after severe pruning.

You can see that the severe pruning caused the shrub to grow young, new branches that produce beautiful green growth and flowers.

overgrown shrubs

**Although severe renewal pruning keeps your shrubs healthy and attractive – there are a few cases when an old, overgrown shrub won’t grow back. It is doubtful that the Cassia shrubs, above, will survive for long either with or without severe pruning).

This usually indicates that the shrub has declined too much and would not have survived for long even without pruning.  If this happens, you are better off replacing your shrub.**  

Hand pruners, pruning saw and loppers

Hand pruners, pruning saw and loppers

A good guideline for severely pruning your shrubs is to do this every 3 years or so. Of course, you can do this every year if you like to help keep your shrubs from outgrowing their space.

I hope that this helps to answer some of your questions.

If you would like to learn more about how to prune shrubs the right way, I invite you to learn more about my popular online shrub pruning workshop.   

From Humble Beginnings…

Do you know what these are?

marigold seeds

They look like a pile of match sticks, don’t they?

I never cease to be amazed at the humble beginnings that most flowers arise from.

Can you tell what type of seeds these are?  

marigolds

They are marigold seeds.

Marigolds are very easy to grow from seed.  Once the flowers die, simply pull out the dried petals and you have seeds with which to plant new ones.

vegetable gardens

I use marigolds in my vegetable gardens as a companion plant.

They not only look pretty, but also help to repel damaging bugs from attacking my vegetables.

During mild winters, they will grow from fall through spring – but can be killed back from freezing temperatures.  They usually die in summer in my desert garden.  But, once  the cooler weather of fall arrives, they come up again from seed.

They meet my criteria of a fuss-free plant.  Marigolds don’t need rich soil or fertilizer.  Where you plant them is up to you, but they do best in sunny areas.

Marigolds also make great container plants and also look nice in bouquets. 

You can find marigolds at most nurseries where annual flowers are located.  Or, you can plant them easily from seed.

How about you?

Have you ever grown marigolds?

How do you use them in your garden?

Beautiful, Low-Maintenance Red Yucca

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When you pair beauty and low-maintenance in a single type of plant – that is one that I highly recommend.

Earlier this week, I was doing a landscape consult with a client who had multiple (Hesperaloe parviflora) plants throughout his garden and I was reminded again, how much I enjoy this succulent plant.  

I’d love to share with you just a few of the many reasons to add red yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) to your landscape…

beautiful red yucca

First of all, its flowers are beautiful and appear May through September and hummingbirds find them irresistible. Red yucca isn’t only drought tolerant but is hardy to -20 degrees, making it suitable for planting in many different planting zones. Although it often referred to by the common name ‘yucca’ – it isn’t a yucca at all.

succulent

Even when not in flower, its grass-like succulent foliage add texture to the landscape. I really like how they look when planted in groups of three.

Grab my FREE guide for Fuss-Free Plants that thrive in a hot, dry climate!

**When adding multiple plants of the same kind – focus on adding them in odd numbered groupings such as 3 or 5.  The reason is that odd numbered plant groupings are more pleasing to the eye.

succulent

In addition to the more traditional red/pink colored flowers, there is also a yellow variety available.  They are the same as red yucca with the flower color being the only difference.

Their requirements are few…. full sun, well-drained soil and periodic deep watering.

succulent

Red yucca plants are extremely low-maintenance. All you need to do is to prune off dead flower stalks in the fall.  

Don’t prune the foliage like the homeowner did in the photo above – why create more maintenance then is needed?  Especially when it results in turning an attractive plant ‘ugly’?

**You can read more about my past experience with this type of pruning to red yucca that was done by a member of my crew in a previous blog post:

“Do This, Not That”

beautiful red yucca

Red or yellow yucca thrive in areas with reflected sun and heat.  They also do well around swimming pools and in pots.

I love how this yellow yucca was placed between garage doors, don’t you?  It is almost impossible to find a plant that will do well in this unforgiving location.

beautiful red yucca

Over time, red yucca can become overgrown.  The photo above are from my client’s front yard.  His red yucca aren’t quite overgrown yet, but will eventually get there in 2 – 3 years.

What I recommend is to simply take them out and replace them when that happens.  You don’t even have to buy a new red yucca to replace them with. Simply separate a small section of the overgrown plant that you just removed and re-plant it.

beautiful red yucca

What’s not to love about this fabulous plant? I hope you will decide to try red or yellow yucca in your landscape.  

An Old Whiskey Barrel and Corn Seeds

A couple of months ago, the new Burpee seed catalog came in the mail, which is always an exciting event in my world.

You see, I have been reading through their catalog since I was a little girl.  I would go through the entire catalog and read the descriptions of flowers and vegetables and circle the ones that I would plant in my imaginary garden.

Now that I am all grown up, I actually buy the seeds I like and plant them in my ‘real’ garden.  

One of the seed descriptions caught my attention.  Corn that you can grow in a container – yes, you heard me right…in a container.

growing vegetables in containers

Well, I have been a recent convert to growing vegetables in containers, so I knew that I had to try these out.

They came in the mail a few weeks ago and I had wait very patiently (not!) until my local gardening calendar said that it was okay to plant them.  The official date to begin planting corn on my zone 9a garden is March 1st.  But, I decided that today (Feb. 23rd) was  a good time to plant them, even though I was a week early.

Did I mention that I am a patient gardener?

I found the perfect container for my new container corn….a half whiskey barrel that I found at our local Home Depot.

container corn

The barrel still smelled like whiskey, which I think makes it just that much cooler.  It didn’t have any holes, so I drilled some holes on the bottom.

container corn

Then my wonderful husband added the soil for me.  I like to think that I am able to pour big bags of soil and I can, but not without a lot of ‘huffing and puffing’ followed by a bit of a backache the next day 😉

Now, it was time to add my precious new corn seeds…

Sweet corn

Originally, I was going to place the container of corn plants next to my vegetable garden located in the side yard – but, I am already planning on growing ‘regular’ corn in that garden and you have to keep different types of corn separate from each other or they will cross-pollinate and the resulting corn will be different.

So, we placed the corn next to my smaller vegetable garden just off of the patio where it will get full sun.

The seeds should take 7 – 14 days to germinate and then I can harvest ears of corn in 63 days.

I can’t wait to see how they grow.  If they turn out well, I may plant them again in August.

If you want to try this new type of corn – clink the link below:

Burpee’s On Deck Corn Hybrid

Not a Flower You Want To See…

broccoli flowers

I went out in my garden today and saw these flowers growing.

While they are pretty, I was NOT happy to see them.

Why?

Maybe this next photo will give you a clue…

broccoli flowers

Can you tell why I’m not happy about these flowers yet?

Maybe this photo will tell you why…

growing broccoli

It is my broccoli that is flowering.

The goal of growing broccoli in my vegetable garden is to eat it before it flowers.

Thankfully, there is plenty of broccoli that isn’t flowering yet.

I don’t claim to have the ‘perfect’ garden and I sometimes don’t get out there much as I’d like, but it really doesn’t bother me that some of my broccoli is flowering.

You know why?

Because I still have a refrigerator filled with fresh broccoli (that hasn’t flowered yet), some still in the garden and a little vase filled with pretty, little, yellow flowers 🙂

Look At What I Grew From Kitchen Scraps…

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houseplants

houseplants

Who knew that you could grow ‘houseplants’ using kitchen scraps?

I was inspired to find gardening projects that could be done indoors, for those gardeners who are stuck inside during cold winters.

The photos below were taken over a 14 day period from planting, to what they look like just 2 weeks later.  I must admit that I am quite impressed.

I started with growing a radish…

houseplants

I am hoping that my radish plant will flower at some point because I have heard that radish flowers are quite pretty.

houseplants

My garlic cloves grew quickly and I will use the greens as a garnish, much like I would use green onions.  Garlic greens have a mild garlic flavor.

Kitchen Scraps

My lentils are quite pretty and delicate looking.  I am waiting for them to flower, which will make them even prettier.

Kitchen Scraps

I realize that many people have grown a vine from a sweet potato – but I hadn’t tried it.  After it grows, the vine will be a pretty addition to my kitchen windowsill garden.  Now that the roots are growing, I will hopefully see some green sprouting on top.

Kitchen Scraps

I did have one plant that didn’t come up.  The book that I was inspired by said that you could plant fresh green beans, but mine didn’t grow.

**You can also plant dried beans after soaking them overnight and they should come up.

The goal of this project wasn’t to grow ‘food’, but to enjoy the foliage of the plants themselves and brighten up a dreary winter for those who live in cold climates.

I really had fun with this project.  I think it would be a great activity to do with kids, don’t you?

Happy New Year!

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HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL! I just finished watching the Rose Parade with my mother.  It’s a tradition in our family and reminds me of when my grandparents took me when I was a child.

We didn’t have tickets to the parade, so my grandfather carried a ladder from their house (which was close by) and set the ladder up at the edge of the parade route.  Each of us kids would take turns climbing to the top of the ladder to watch the parade.

Even though we didn’t see much of the parade, it is still such a special memory.

Well, Christmas is over and the decorations have all been put away.  But, we had a wonderful time over the Christmas holiday.

Here are a few highlights…

Rose Parade

Baking Christmas cookies with my kids along with my young nephews.  Every year, I have all of them come over and we have so much fun making the cookies.  Then they get to take some home for ‘Santa’.

famous lasagna

Christmas Eve.  Every year, my mother-in-law makes her famous lasagna.  It is delicious.  But, she says that this is the last year that she will be making it.  So, I took a picture of it just in case no one else takes up making it in her place.

Twas

Each year, on Christmas Eve, all my kids (those that still live at home), ask me to read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’.  The dogs enjoy the story too 🙂

Happy New Year!

Christmas morning at our house.

Happy New Year!

After Christmas morning at our house, the entire family gathers at Double S Farms.  My granddaughter, Lily is excited about opening more gifts.  Well, not really.  She just likes to tear the tissue paper up into tiny pieces.

Happy New Year!

Our family just keeps getting bigger.

Happy New Year!

After we finished opening gifts, it was time for our ‘treasure hunt’.  This is a family tradition where my mother writes clues, which eventually lead us to our last Christmas gift.  We all work together to solve the clues.

This year’s hunt took us to the chicken coop and to my mother’s vegetable garden…

December

Doesn’t it look fabulous for December?

Anyway, here is where found one of the clues…

broccoli plant.

There was a note inside this broccoli plant.

Rose Parade

After gifts were all opened, it was time to play outside.  The men and boys played football.  My twin nephews had fun on the toy tractor being pushed by their mom.

Rose Parade

Lily wanted to play ball, but Johnny wasn’t going to share.

Rose Parade

So, her aunt and cousins decided to give her a ride in the toy tractor.

Rose Parade

Trees were climbed by my nephew, Oliver.

Rose Parade

The ‘men’ had fun talking.

Rose Parade

And my 2-year old nephew, Danny, finally got to ‘climb’ a tree with a little help from my daughter, Rachele.

Rose Parade

My mother got her wish…a photo with all of her grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Although, this was a wonderful Christmas for me, it was also a little bittersweet.

Rose Parade

My daughter, Rachele, holding her niece.

You see, my second oldest daughter, Rachele, is entering the Navy in April.  While I am so proud of her, I will miss her.  She will probably not be with us next Christmas.

And so, every memory from this past Christmas are extra special to me.

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I have lots of plans for the garden this coming year  and some road trips.  So I will have lots to share with you.

AZ Plant Lady’s Christmas and New Year Newsletter